This combination of images made available by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center on Thursday, July 25, 2013 shows a comparison between the higher resolution provided by the new ISIS (Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph), right, and the SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory) spacecraft. Launched in June 2013, NASA's IRIS has a scheduled mission of two years. Scientists say the observations will help shed light on the sun's impact on Earth. (AP Photo/NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is getting an unprecedented close-up look at the sun, thanks to a new telescope.

NASA's IRIS spacecraft, launched just a month ago, already is providing detailed pictures of the sun. The telescope's door opened last week, and it began observing the lower solar atmospheres in never-before-seen detail. The early results were announced Thursday and hailed by the research team as exciting.

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